Senator JV Ejercito on Tuesday is worried about the effect of the power struggle at the House of Representatives to the image of the current administration.
“There are ongoing cases right now against the Arroyo administration, against former president GMA (Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo), ‘yun lang ang magiging parang hindi magandang tingnan siguro (that’s the only one that is not good to see),” Ejercito said in an interview.
“Kasi binanggit pa naman ng Pangulo sa kanyang Sona kahapon na (Because the President mentioned in his Sona yesterday that) aside from the war against drugs, he would be relentless on the war against drugs and corruption,” he added.
President Rodrigo Duterte’s third State of the Nation Address (Sona) emphasized the government’s continuous war not only against illegal drugs but also against corruption.
“Time and again, I have stressed that corruption must stop. Corruption is like a leech that it bleeds the government of funds programmed for its infrastructure and other social development projects,” Duterte said Monday.
Arroyo was charged with plunder for the misuse of the P366 million Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) fund from 2008 to 2010. The case was junked by the Supreme Court in 2016.
READ: SC junks remaining Arroyo plunder case, sets her free
“Legitimacy was always in question,” Ejercito said of the Arroyo administration. “Maraming ring scams, marami ring scandals (There were many scams, scandals).”
Arroyo was involved in the infamous “Hello Garci” scandal, an alleged electoral fraud and sabotage during the 2004 elections, which revealed phone conversations between her and Commission on Elections (Comelec) commissioner Virgilio Garcillano discussing the rigging of poll results.
READ: What Went Before: Saga of the ‘Hello Garci’ tapes
In 2007, her administration has signed a deal with China’s ZTE Corp. for the $329-million National Broadband Network (NBN), which would have facilitated the installation of a telecommunications network linking government offices throughout the country.
However, the deal was later found to be overpriced by about $130 million to cover kickbacks for government officials. — Kristine Anne Macasiray/INQUIRER.net intern /ee
READ: What went before: NBN-ZTE deal